West Dunbartonshire Council opened the doors of the new £15.4million Church Street offices to the public today as 500 staff prepared to relocated from the old premises on Garshake Road.

The new state-of-the-art building at 16 Church Street incorporates the site of the former Dumbarton Academy with the grade-A listed William Leiper designed façade forming the entrance.

The project received funding of half a million pounds from Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to retain the front of the old building which was destroyed by a fire in 1882 and again in 1976, with the rear demolished in 2007.

(Image: Colin Garvie)

The council agreed with HES to honour the old building with a new stone date to commemorate the listed Dumbarton landmark.

The right-hand side of the entrance now reads 1865 (the date of the original opening) with the left reading 2018 to mark the completion of the new build.

The original glass panelling of the building has been replicated in frosted glass walls through the new offices with meeting rooms also being given Dumbarton-themed names such as Castle and Rock.

The offices are decorated throughout with large-scale prints from winners of the West Dunbartonshire Photography Competition - sunset landscapes or Loch Lomond and the River Leven are among the local beauty spots on show.

(Image: Colin Garvie)

The new revamped building includes a community space, training and meeting rooms and a new council chamber.

The site includes a 195 space car park with storage for up to 80 bikes.

Councillor Iain McLaren, convener of infrastructure, regeneration and economic development, said: “I’m just really impressed by the final product.

“A highlight for me is just being on one of the staff levels and seeing that there is a feeling of openness.

“The views we can see - right the way to Ben Lomond on a clear day - are amazing.

“The build has been extremely sympathetic to the old facade, if we had lost that it would have been a shame.”

(Image: Colin Garvie)

The new building is hoped to save up to £400,000 a year in maintenance costs compared with the Garshake building.

When the moves have been completed, the operational office estate will have reduced by 53 percent, leading to savings in; rates, rents, utilities, cleaning and maintenance.

Cllr McLaren added: “To people who say it has cost too much money I would say look at the positive benefits to the town centre, bringing 800 people who will shop and eat in the town centre and the savings that have been outlined compared to Garshake, that building was exemplary in the 60s but the upkeep of that is far more expensive compared to this.”

(Image: Colin Garvie)

Some staff had already made the transition to the new build last week.

As the Lennox Herald were receiving a tour, a nearby Dumbarton resident popped into reception to take a sneak peak. He said: “I used to come to the dancing here when I was a teenager, you had to queue up round the corner to get in, it was the place to be.

“I think what they have done with the place is tremendous. It’s absolutely stunning.”

It is intended for all staff to have left the former offices at Garshake by the end of June.

(Image: Colin Garvie)

The building, which opened its doors in June, 1965, will then be surveyed for demolition and the site will be put on the market for developers - it is considered most likely that the site will become a residential development.